Studio – Levy Art + Architecture

Studio

An interdisciplinary studio working at the intersection of architecture, design, and the living landscape.

Levy Art + Architecture is founded on the belief that the best architecture emerges from a deep understanding of place. Our work is shaped by research, sustainability, and a commitment to the thoughtful union of materials, structure, and light — creating spaces that transform how we experience everyday life.

We work across urban and natural environments, from San Francisco and the Bay Area to the wine country of Napa and Sonoma, the Sierra Nevada, and the California coast. Every project is an exploration — technically rigorous, site-specific, and guided by an inclusive process that brings clients, communities, and collaborators into the work from the start.

ETHOS

Place

We begin by listening to the land. Every site carries a history, a climate, and a set of latent possibilities. Understanding these is the first act of design — before a line is drawn.

Sustainability

Environmental responsibility is not a constraint — it is a creative prompt. From envelope design to material selection, sustainability informs every decision from the first sketch to the final detail.

Collaboration

We approach each project as a dialogue — between client and site, architect and builder, the spaces we make and the lives lived within them. The best work emerges from genuine listening.

Craft

We believe in materials chosen with intention and assembled with precision. The quality of what you touch is as important as what you see. Form, texture, and light are the vocabulary of the spaces we make.

Transformation

Architecture at its best changes how you move through a day — how light enters a room in the morning, how the threshold between inside and outside dissolves. We design for moments felt before they are noticed.

Place

We begin by listening to the land. Every site carries a history, a climate, and a set of latent possibilities. Understanding these is the first act of design — before a line is drawn.

Sustainability

Collaboration

We approach each project as a dialogue — between client and site, architect and builder, the spaces we make and the lives lived within them. The best work emerges from genuine listening.

Craft

Transformation

PEOPLE

Ross Levy

PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT

Ross Levy has spent two decades dedicated to the belief that contemporary, sustainable design is the thoughtful union of vernacular tradition and modern technology. A licensed architect and building contractor, he completed graduate work at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and is a founding member of the Viet Nam Green Building Council. His projects have been recognized by the AIA and featured in Architectural Digest, Dwell, Dezeen, and numerous other publications.

Karen Andersen

DIRECTOR OF ARCHITECTURE

Karen Andersen has been with the studio since 2000, bringing a lifelong passion for design, materials, and craft to every project. A graduate of the University of Arizona's architecture program, she has deep experience with residential renovations and interior design, and has expanded her practice to include sustainable systems, botany, and the principles of xeriscape planting.

Frances Weiss

DIRECTOR OF DESIGN

Frances Weiss brings a commitment to timelessness and material integrity to the studio's interior work. She specializes in environments, color, and the relationship between spatial and tactile qualities. With a background in both design and construction, she is as comfortable in the studio as she is on the job site.